The Community Wellbeing Collective (CWC) is a socially engaged, intercultural and intergenerational collective, made up of 30+ people from and connected to Wester Hailes that practice community wellbeing together.
They run a public Community Wellbeing Space, in Westside Plaza shopping centre providing free wellbeing activities, run by local members, to expand public imagination, enhance health and wellness, grow possibilities for local action and create neighborhood cohesion. Through monthly ‘Anchor Events’ they invite external organisations to collaborate and connect people in solidarity to the resources needed
to fight the effects of poverty. These events explore the wider politics around wellbeing, with discussions and creative workshops to build ways to support one another through our struggles.
In nearly two years of running a free public space in Wester Hailes the CWC have gone through precarity in finding funding with solidarity and hope. Thanks to the collectiveness, imagination and dedication of the members and the support from the wider community, they have been able to continue running through uncertainty and even funding gaps, and are delighted to announce they have now been awarded 3 year multi-year funding from The National Lottery, Robertson Trust and a grant from Creative Scotland to run an exciting programme ‘Carving Out Space for Public Imagining’ which will begin in July and run until December.
While they are happy to share this fantastic news, the CWC will still have a lot of money to raise each year to continue doing their essential work. This points to the crisis we live in, with increasing poverty, dangerously underfunded social care, unemployment, poor mental health and lack of support, lack of public space, increasing social isolation. The government is expecting charities to fill these gaps, while charities increasingly struggle to gain funding to do this.
These issues are felt strongly in Wester Hailes which is why residents came together to make a change. The CWC run a programme which combats these issues within the open space in which people are free to sit and be, to connect with others and through their vast range of activities and the collaborations with local and national organizations, such as Community Meals, Relaxation Afternoons with childcare, Spirituality and Yoga Evenings, Creative Writing, Baby Stay and Play, Colour Meditation, Languages Exchange Club, Life Planning workshops. Instead of creating a service they create physical and mental space for people to weave tighter support networks, develop skills and connect to further resources needed to not only survive but to thrive. They invite visitors to together alleviate the effects of crisis so that we can imagine beyond our current systems and take action towards change!
Upcoming programme
As well as their usual drop-in opening hours; Thursdays 3-6pm, Fridays 5-7pm, Saturdays 1-4pm where members continue to deliver free wellbeing activities and large scale Anchor Events the last Saturday of every month 12-7pm with open mic 5-7pm, the CWC will be running a Creative Scotland funded programme July-December 2024
Artists and collectives including My Body Remedy, Southside Allclean, Walker and Bromwich, Jeanne van Heeswijk and Pupak Haghighi are invited to Wester Hailes to collaborate with local CWC members in conversation, collective trainings, workshops and public events to ask How Can We Carve Out Space for Public Imagination?
CWC continue to host the other organisations they collaborate with including SCOREscotland, Edinburgh Community Yoga, Grass Roots Remedies, Nurses of Colour and Edinburgh Art Festival.
To find out more, drop by their space Or see online for a full programme coming soon:
Website watchthisspace.online
Instagram and Facebook @CommunityWellbeingCollective
Email communitywellbeingcollective@gmail.com
Article written and submitted Community Wellbeing Collective member Sindy Santos
